(1) Assisting a person in the ingestion, application or
inhalation of medications, including prescription drugs, or in the
use of universal precautions or rectal or vaginal insertion of
medication, according to the legibly written or printed directions
of the attending physician or the health care professional in
accordance with subdivision sixty-one, section four, article five,
chapter thirty of this code, or as written on the prescription
label; and

(2) Making a written record of such assistance with regard to
each medication administered, including the time, route and amount
taken. However, for purposes of this article, "administration" does
not include judgment, evaluation, assessments, injections of
medication (except for prefilled insulin or insulin pens), or
monitoring of medication or self-administration of medications,
such as prescription drugs and self-injection of medication by the
resident.

(b) "Approved medication assistive personnel (AMAP)" means
unlicensed facility staff member, who meets eligibility
requirements, has successfully completed the required training and
competency testing, and is considered competent by the authorized
registered professional nurse to administer medications or perform
health maintenance tasks, or both, to residents of the facility in accordance with this article.

(c) Authorized practitioner" means a physician licensed under
the provisions of article three, chapter thirty of this code or
article fourteen, chapter thirty of this code.

(d) "Authorized registered professional nurse" means a person
who holds an unencumbered license pursuant to article seven,
chapter thirty, and meets the requirements to train and supervise
approved medication assistive personnel pursuant to this article,
and has completed and passed the facility trainer/instructor course
developed by the authorizing agency.

(f) "Delegation" means transferring to a competent individual,
as determined by the authorized registered professional nurse, the
authority to perform a selected task in a selected situation.

(g) "Delegation decision model" means the process the
authorized registered professional nurse must follow to determine
whether or not to delegate a nursing task to an approved medication
assistive personnel. The delegation decision model is approved by
the West Virginia Board of Examiners for Registered Professional
Nurses.

(h) "Department" means the Department of Health and Human
Resources.

(i) "Facility" means an intermediate care facility for
individuals with an intellectual disability, assisted living, behavioral health group home, private residence in which health
care services and health maintenance tasks are provided under the
supervision of a registered professional nurse as defined in
article seven, chapter thirty of this code.

(j) "Facility staff member" means an individual employed by a
facility but does not include a health care professional acting
within his or her scope of practice.

(k) "Family" means biological parents, adoptive parents,
foster parents, or other immediate family members living within the
same household.

(m) "Health maintenance tasks" means performing the following
tasks according to the legibly written or printed directions of a
health care professional or as written on the prescription label,
and making a written record of that assistance with regard to each
health maintenance task administered, including the time, route and
amount taken:

(1) Administering glucometer tests;

(2) Administering gastrostomy tube feedings;

(3) Administering enemas;

(4) Performing ostomy care which includes skin care and changing appliances; and

(5) Performing tracheostomy and ventilator care for residents
in a private residence who are living with family and/or natural
supports.

"Health maintenance tasks" do not include judgment,
evaluation, assessments, injections of medication, except for
prefilled insulin or insulin pens, or monitoring of medication or
self-administration of medications, such as prescription drugs and
self-injection of medication by the resident.

(o) "Location of medication administration or location where
health maintenance tasks are performed" means a facility or
location where the resident requires administration of medication
or assistance in taking medications or the performance of health
maintenance tasks.

(p) "Medication" means a drug, as defined in section one
hundred one, article one, chapter sixty-a of this code, which has
been prescribed by a health care professional to be ingested
through the mouth, inhaled through the nose or mouth, administered
through a gastrostomy tube, applied to the outer skin, eye or ear,
or applied through nose drops, vaginal or rectal suppositories.

(q) "Natural supports" means family, friends, neighbors or
anyone who provides assistance and support to a resident but is not reimbursed.

(r) "Registered professional nurse" means a person who holds
a valid license pursuant to article seven, chapter thirty of this
code.

(s) "Resident" means a resident of a facility who for purposes
of this article, is in a stable condition.

(t) "Secretary" means the Secretary of the department or his
or her designee.

(u) "Self-administration of medication" means the act of a
resident, who is independently capable of reading and understanding
the labels of drugs ordered by an authorized practitioner, in
opening and accessing prepackaged drug containers, accurately
identifying and taking the correct dosage of the drugs as ordered
by the health care professional, at the correct time and under the
correct circumstances.

(v) "Self-administration of medication with assistance" means
assisting residents who are otherwise able to self-administer their
own medications except their physical disabilities prevent them
from completing one or more steps in the process.

(w) "Stable" means the individual's health condition is
predictable and consistent as determined by the registered
professional nurse.

(x) "Supervision of self-administration of medication" means
a personal service which includes reminding residents to take
medications, opening medication containers for residents, reading the medication label to residents, observing residents while they
take medication, checking the self-administered dosage against the
label on the container and reassuring residents that they have
obtained and are taking the dosage as prescribed.
Note: WV Code updated with legislation passed through the 2014 1st Special Session
The WV Code Online is an unofficial copy of the annotated WV Code, provided as a convenience. It has NOT been edited for publication, and is not in any way official or authoritative.